Education Organizer - Stockton, CA
ABOUT ROCKETSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS
At Rocketship Public Schools, we believe in the infinite possibility of human potential. We believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop his or her unique potential. It is our responsibility and our privilege to unleash the potential inside every Rocketeer we serve. Our non-profit network of public elementary charter schools propels student achievement, develops exceptional educators, and partners with parents who enable high-quality public schools to thrive in their community. We are a collective of parents, teachers, leaders, and students working together to transform the future for low- income communities across our country. At Rocketship Public Schools, we are unleashing potential.
The Role
The Education Organizer, Stockton is a full-time, exempt position on Rocketship’s California Bay Area Growth and Community Engagement (GCE) team serving the Stockton community as we grow our impact. With the support and guidance of the Bay Area Regional Director and the GCE team, this role is responsible for leading the region’s work to achieve the vision of parent leadership and drive parent organizing and community mobilizing efforts in Stockton. This role will work to build a base of parent leaders who are willing to advocate and organize for better school options in the Stockton community.
This position is critical to regional efforts to support parent engagement across the Stockton community by partnering effectively with school leaders, families, community organizations, faith-based institutions, private sector institutions, and civic leaders as key collaborators and stakeholders in advocacy in educational equity. This hands-on, Stockton-based role is part of a dynamic community organizing team, and the Education Organizer must:
- Believe that every student deserves the right to dream, to discover, and to develop his or her unique potential regardless of demographics or zip code
- Engage with parents to unleash their power to demand quality educational options and work for educational equity and to eliminate the achievement gap in our lifetime
- Organize and develop parent leaders both at the community and school levels
- Create and implement trainings, measure the progress of organizing a campaign, and
- Plan and drive successful campaigns at multiple communities in Stockton
This position works closely with schools and the regional East Bay area GCE Team to organize future Rocketship parents. The Education Organizer will focus on building relationships, identifying and developing the leadership of future Charter school parents, and co-create organizing strategy and campaigns that support regional goals.
This position requires daily local travel within the Stockton region, flexibility of schedule, including the willingness to work on weekends and evening hours as events demand.
Key Responsibilities
Education Organizing
- Build and lead the mission-critical work around parent engagement, leadership, and organizing around expanding Rocketship’s community impact
- Recruit and mobilize a network of teachers, parents, and community stakeholders that build advocacy and engagement for Rocketship’s impact
- Complete 15 -20 one-on-one relational meetings every week with current and potential parent leaders and other important stakeholders that build organizing capacity and engagement
- Support all charter application processes
- Have significant evening and weekend work
Training
- Build the capacity of parents to understand the Stockton educational landscape, key decision makers, and power of community
- Actively engage Rocketship parents in further investing in their leadership skills by building their capacity through training and coaching
Community Engagement
- Foster relationships and develop champions with community-based organizations, faith leaders, elected officials, civic and community leaders that lead to positive engagement of the community and neighborhoods where Rocketship has and will have a presence
- Invest in Rocketship’s advocacy work and mission
Required Qualifications
- The ability to position Rocketship in the policy arena as an agent for positive change through strong communication and strategic skills
- A results-oriented, goal-driven, team approach to work
- Demonstrated ability to interact and cultivate support among diverse constituencies, including public officials, key external agencies, and stakeholders
- Verbal and written fluency in a second language required. Spanish strongly preferred
- A bachelor’s degree preferred
- A valid driver’s license and access to a car for transportation
- Experience using Google Apps and a willingness to learn and implement new technology
Preferable Qualifications
The ideal candidate will also possess some combination of the following:
- The desire to learn and an openness to challenge
- 1+ year in community organizing, education reform, or engagement in grassroots movements
- In-depth experience managing and/or leading community organizing campaigns and mobilizing support
- Experience working with organization or schools in an urban community
- Familiar with local and/or state politics
- Strong public speaking, writing, and analytical skills
- Capacity to think strategically and critically about social, economic, cultural, and political issues affecting a community
- Experiences training or coaching others
- Confidence, empathy, emotional intelligence, and persuasiveness
- A sense of urgency and passion for social justice and equity in education
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk, hear, and communicate with both adults and children. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally climb ladders. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is moderate to high.
Compensation
Commensurate with qualifications and experience, plus excellent health and welfare benefits, 403b retirement plan, flexible spending account (FSA), flexible work location/schedule, and generous paid time off.
Rocketship Public Schools provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws. Rocketship Public Schools complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
Rocketship Public Schools expressly prohibits any form of unlawful employee harassment based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status. Improper interference with the ability of Rocketship Public Schools’ employees to perform their expected job duties is absolutely not tolerated. Click here for our Sexual Harassment Policy and here for our Title IX Policy. For questions, concerns, or complaints, please contact Equity/Discrimination Title IX Compliance Officer, Email: compliance@rsed.org. Address: 350 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 109, Redwood City, CA 94065. Phone: 877-806-0920 ext. 115.